Colorado-West Virginia Quotes
Colorado vs. West Virginia
Jan. 12, 2025, CU Events Center
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
Opening Statement:
“Well, another disappointing loss. It's been like that now four games in a row. So, I take responsibility for this. I'm the head coach. We let a team that's averaging 62 points a game come into our building and score 78 on us. They've had injuries, they're shorthanded, and I got to do a better job helping our guys guard because right now, we can't. We can't guard. We did at times in the second half, we scratched and clawed our way back, but then down the stretch, last four or five minutes the game, we couldn't get stops, and so that's on me. I'll take responsibility for this. I'm the head coach.”
On what happened to RJ Smith and Elijah Malone:
“Elijah tweaked his back so he was not able to play. I ask guys, if they're not,100%, I need him to tell me. And he said his back was really hurting him, so he didn't go. RJ was not himself tonight from the get-go. We took him out one time in the first half, and he just had a kind of a blank look on his face. So, they think they're doing some tests on him to see how he's feeling. So, I don't know the answer to that one, but I know Elijah tweaked his back. So, we'll see where we're at as the day progresses with RJ. We'll know more tomorrow.”
On if the constant free throws prevented flow on offense:
“It's tough to get into flow. There's no doubt about that. The good thing is, you go to the line and they're getting in foul trouble. Two guys of theirs fouled out and so that's the benefit to us. We talked about going into this game and going into all three of our Big 12 games of being strong with the ball and really secure with it. I thought our guys did a pretty darn good job of that. Now we had some silly turnovers in that first half. 11 turnovers in the first half. Two illegal screens, two three balls, throwing it out of bounds, one dribble and into traffic, like it is silly stuff. We did a much better job in the second half. We only had three turnovers in the second half. Now, two of those three came at a critical point in the game. It was a two-point game, and then we took a really, really ill-advised three without a paint touch, which we talked about at halftime. You got to make plays down the stretch, and we didn't. But the free throw thing. Look, this is the first time I felt like in league play where I thought that if it was it was a foul, the officials called it a foul. Now, they didn't call every foul there. There's always going to be missed calls on both sides, so we know that. But I thought our guys were stronger with the ball, and I thought we got a very good whistle tonight. We fouled a lot down the stretch. Those things are going to even out, but that's where your offense has got to improve. You can't have those three empty possessions in a two-point game and expect to get over the hump. When you're behind, you got to get stops, and you got to score. You don't have to score every time. You don't have to get a stop every time, but you have to get more stops and more scores in the other team to shrink that lead. We shrunk it to two multiple times, but we couldn't get over the hump.”
On how losing RJ changed the plan for defense:
“I thought Andrej Jakimovski was terrific on Javon Small all night long. Javon made a tough step-back three on him to start the half. He made one on Trevor. He made one on Ruff. So, he got three of our guys on the same move, which we showed our guys in film. We told him that this is what he likes to do. He loves to jab right, step back three, going to your left. But he made them like bang, bang, bang. And that was nine points. But even with that, we were able to overcome it and close the gap. We weren't able to get over the hump. I thought Andrej did a terrific job. All of our guys did because we were switching five ways in the second half with Elijah out. And I thought that was what allowed us to get back in the game. But at the end, when we switched, we couldn't guard Yesufu. He got downhill, he made threes, he drove fouls.”
On how Joseph Yesufu changed the game’s momentum:
“That's what good players do. Good players make plays down the stretch. How often did I sit here and talk about McKinley Wright making plays down the stretch to help us win a game? Guess what? McKinley Wright is not in our uniform. He's not a Buffalo. He's still a Buffalo, but he's not a current Buffalo. He's a former Buffalo. So, that's what good players do. And they make plays when plays need to be made, and they finish at the rim. They had one offensive rebound in the first half. Then they had seven in the second half. If we just hit our offensive rebounding goal, which is six or fewer for the game, and we hit our threes made game goal, which is six or fewer in the game, I think we win this game, but we didn't hit either one of them. And so, close isn’t good enough. You have to get the job done. And we didn't get the job done. That's on me. It's not on our players. It's on me. I'll take it. I signed their scholarship agreements. It's on me.”
On acclimating to the new conference
“I knew this was going to be a hell of a league. It's not easy to win in a Big 12, on the road or at home. We just had two games that I thought were winnable but we didn't win, so you have to figure out, how do you win the next one? I knew going to the Big 12 was going to be a challenge. There's no doubt about it. We lost a lot of last year's team, and I thought we replenished well enough, but that has not been the case. That's on the head coach. It's not their fault. It's my fault, so I got to take responsibility for this in every facet - offense, defense, recruiting; everything. I gotta take responsibility, and I do, and I'm disappointed in myself.”
On team morale so far
“Well, we'll find out. I told the team in the locker room, we'll find out what we're made of now. This is what life teaches you. This is what athletics teach you. Look, I've been through it before. We were 0-7 to start Pac-12 play one year, so I've been here before. They haven't. Guess what? Nobody feels sorry for us. Cincinnati doesn't feel sorry for us. There are going to be two 0-4 teams duking it out here on Wednesday night, so I don't want to feel sorry for ourselves. I'm not feeling sorry for myself. I'm blaming myself. I'm taking ownership, and that's what we all need to do, and it starts with me. Life isn't always easy. It's not 70 degrees and sunny every day, and we got to put things in perspective. All the things that are going on in the world today, especially in Southern California, with all the disaster that's happened there. We lived through that a few years ago, so perspective is important. I think these young men need to understand that it's not all about me. The most natural thing for young men to do, and for old men to do, when things are tough is to think about yourself. You think, oh, woe is me, we're not catching a break. Guess what? You ain't going to get out of this like that. You gotta get out of this by saying, I'm counting on you. You can count on me. We're going to be in this thing together, and we're going to fight through this thing together no matter what happens.”
On if Assane Diop is turning a corner
“I hope so. I thought down the stretch he struggled. He struggled to rebound the ball down the stretch, but Assane does some good things for us. He's going to give you everything he's got. I look at him like a freshman. I look at him and BD [Bangot Dak] kind of like freshmen, even though they're sophomores, because they didn't play a lot last year. He's doing some good things. He's getting better for us, but he's got a lot of room for improvement as well. All of our guys have room for improvement, Head Coach included.”
On plans for guarding the pick and roll
“It depends on the player. [Javon] Small has the ability to pass the ball and get downhill and shoot the three coming off the ball screen. He represents a big challenge in our ball screen defense. He's a very good player. He's a first team, all league guy, in my opinion. We're only four games in, but he keeps playing like this. He's legit, so he represents problems. Our ball screen defense against Cincinnati will be based on Cincinnati's personnel. I don't know if they have a Javon Small, I sure as hell hope not, on their roster, but if they do, it represents a challenge. I think the switching did help us. Without a doubt.”
Colorado Players
Assane Diop, So., F
On being shorthanded in the second half
“I think playing without some of our teammates in the second half, was not helping. Like Julian [Hammond III] said, we did not rebound good, and we did not take care of the ball. Coach [Tad Boyle] has talked about this all year, so it's on us.”
Julian Hammond III, Sr., G
On attempting to come back in the second half
“They're a pretty good team on defense, and they don't play at the fastest pace, so when you have that many turnovers in the first half, and then in the second half, they had seven offensive rebounds, it's hard to get back in front, especially when you're down double digits. They're a good team on defense, and on offense, so it's really just a mixture of both, but we just shouldn't have let the lead get to what it was at the end of the first half."
On struggling from 3-point range:
"They're just pressuring us, like every team has so far. Teams are trying to make us turn the ball over and stuff like that, and that's been a problem for us. They adjusted how they played a little bit. Sometimes they kind of sag off a little bit of certain guys, but today they were pressuring everybody. When you're being pressured, it's hard to find good threes all the time. But I feel like we still found a decent amount of open threes. Obviously, the guys are going to be running at you, it's not going to be wide open. Some of the threes we had were good shots, we just didn't make them."
On playing without RJ Smith in the second half:
"RJ [Smith], he's a great player on offense, but we especially miss him on defense. He's a really tough, physical defender, a really good athlete. He shoots the ball well from three. He does a lot of things on the court that are simple, but he does them very good. So we miss that."
On playing Javon Small:
"He's a really good player. To start the second half, he took some tough shots, step back threes. We knew that he was going to do that. We knew he was going to get into his dribble moves, his dribble combos to try and set up jumpers, whether it's step back, pull ups, or attacking the rim, or whatever it was. He's a real good player; he draws fouls really good as well."
On losing four in a row:
"It's definitely frustrating losing four games in a row. We haven't had a four-game losing streak in a while. I mean, I can't remember last time. I don't even know if it's since I've been here. So obviously it's frustrating, but we try to keep our team together and keep our guys together because we have another game on Wednesday, and Cincinnati is also 0-4. So we're we both have something to prove, so we have to be ready for them."
Jan. 12, 2025, CU Events Center
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
Opening Statement:
“Well, another disappointing loss. It's been like that now four games in a row. So, I take responsibility for this. I'm the head coach. We let a team that's averaging 62 points a game come into our building and score 78 on us. They've had injuries, they're shorthanded, and I got to do a better job helping our guys guard because right now, we can't. We can't guard. We did at times in the second half, we scratched and clawed our way back, but then down the stretch, last four or five minutes the game, we couldn't get stops, and so that's on me. I'll take responsibility for this. I'm the head coach.”
On what happened to RJ Smith and Elijah Malone:
“Elijah tweaked his back so he was not able to play. I ask guys, if they're not,100%, I need him to tell me. And he said his back was really hurting him, so he didn't go. RJ was not himself tonight from the get-go. We took him out one time in the first half, and he just had a kind of a blank look on his face. So, they think they're doing some tests on him to see how he's feeling. So, I don't know the answer to that one, but I know Elijah tweaked his back. So, we'll see where we're at as the day progresses with RJ. We'll know more tomorrow.”
On if the constant free throws prevented flow on offense:
“It's tough to get into flow. There's no doubt about that. The good thing is, you go to the line and they're getting in foul trouble. Two guys of theirs fouled out and so that's the benefit to us. We talked about going into this game and going into all three of our Big 12 games of being strong with the ball and really secure with it. I thought our guys did a pretty darn good job of that. Now we had some silly turnovers in that first half. 11 turnovers in the first half. Two illegal screens, two three balls, throwing it out of bounds, one dribble and into traffic, like it is silly stuff. We did a much better job in the second half. We only had three turnovers in the second half. Now, two of those three came at a critical point in the game. It was a two-point game, and then we took a really, really ill-advised three without a paint touch, which we talked about at halftime. You got to make plays down the stretch, and we didn't. But the free throw thing. Look, this is the first time I felt like in league play where I thought that if it was it was a foul, the officials called it a foul. Now, they didn't call every foul there. There's always going to be missed calls on both sides, so we know that. But I thought our guys were stronger with the ball, and I thought we got a very good whistle tonight. We fouled a lot down the stretch. Those things are going to even out, but that's where your offense has got to improve. You can't have those three empty possessions in a two-point game and expect to get over the hump. When you're behind, you got to get stops, and you got to score. You don't have to score every time. You don't have to get a stop every time, but you have to get more stops and more scores in the other team to shrink that lead. We shrunk it to two multiple times, but we couldn't get over the hump.”
On how losing RJ changed the plan for defense:
“I thought Andrej Jakimovski was terrific on Javon Small all night long. Javon made a tough step-back three on him to start the half. He made one on Trevor. He made one on Ruff. So, he got three of our guys on the same move, which we showed our guys in film. We told him that this is what he likes to do. He loves to jab right, step back three, going to your left. But he made them like bang, bang, bang. And that was nine points. But even with that, we were able to overcome it and close the gap. We weren't able to get over the hump. I thought Andrej did a terrific job. All of our guys did because we were switching five ways in the second half with Elijah out. And I thought that was what allowed us to get back in the game. But at the end, when we switched, we couldn't guard Yesufu. He got downhill, he made threes, he drove fouls.”
On how Joseph Yesufu changed the game’s momentum:
“That's what good players do. Good players make plays down the stretch. How often did I sit here and talk about McKinley Wright making plays down the stretch to help us win a game? Guess what? McKinley Wright is not in our uniform. He's not a Buffalo. He's still a Buffalo, but he's not a current Buffalo. He's a former Buffalo. So, that's what good players do. And they make plays when plays need to be made, and they finish at the rim. They had one offensive rebound in the first half. Then they had seven in the second half. If we just hit our offensive rebounding goal, which is six or fewer for the game, and we hit our threes made game goal, which is six or fewer in the game, I think we win this game, but we didn't hit either one of them. And so, close isn’t good enough. You have to get the job done. And we didn't get the job done. That's on me. It's not on our players. It's on me. I'll take it. I signed their scholarship agreements. It's on me.”
On acclimating to the new conference
“I knew this was going to be a hell of a league. It's not easy to win in a Big 12, on the road or at home. We just had two games that I thought were winnable but we didn't win, so you have to figure out, how do you win the next one? I knew going to the Big 12 was going to be a challenge. There's no doubt about it. We lost a lot of last year's team, and I thought we replenished well enough, but that has not been the case. That's on the head coach. It's not their fault. It's my fault, so I got to take responsibility for this in every facet - offense, defense, recruiting; everything. I gotta take responsibility, and I do, and I'm disappointed in myself.”
On team morale so far
“Well, we'll find out. I told the team in the locker room, we'll find out what we're made of now. This is what life teaches you. This is what athletics teach you. Look, I've been through it before. We were 0-7 to start Pac-12 play one year, so I've been here before. They haven't. Guess what? Nobody feels sorry for us. Cincinnati doesn't feel sorry for us. There are going to be two 0-4 teams duking it out here on Wednesday night, so I don't want to feel sorry for ourselves. I'm not feeling sorry for myself. I'm blaming myself. I'm taking ownership, and that's what we all need to do, and it starts with me. Life isn't always easy. It's not 70 degrees and sunny every day, and we got to put things in perspective. All the things that are going on in the world today, especially in Southern California, with all the disaster that's happened there. We lived through that a few years ago, so perspective is important. I think these young men need to understand that it's not all about me. The most natural thing for young men to do, and for old men to do, when things are tough is to think about yourself. You think, oh, woe is me, we're not catching a break. Guess what? You ain't going to get out of this like that. You gotta get out of this by saying, I'm counting on you. You can count on me. We're going to be in this thing together, and we're going to fight through this thing together no matter what happens.”
On if Assane Diop is turning a corner
“I hope so. I thought down the stretch he struggled. He struggled to rebound the ball down the stretch, but Assane does some good things for us. He's going to give you everything he's got. I look at him like a freshman. I look at him and BD [Bangot Dak] kind of like freshmen, even though they're sophomores, because they didn't play a lot last year. He's doing some good things. He's getting better for us, but he's got a lot of room for improvement as well. All of our guys have room for improvement, Head Coach included.”
On plans for guarding the pick and roll
“It depends on the player. [Javon] Small has the ability to pass the ball and get downhill and shoot the three coming off the ball screen. He represents a big challenge in our ball screen defense. He's a very good player. He's a first team, all league guy, in my opinion. We're only four games in, but he keeps playing like this. He's legit, so he represents problems. Our ball screen defense against Cincinnati will be based on Cincinnati's personnel. I don't know if they have a Javon Small, I sure as hell hope not, on their roster, but if they do, it represents a challenge. I think the switching did help us. Without a doubt.”
Colorado Players
Assane Diop, So., F
On being shorthanded in the second half
“I think playing without some of our teammates in the second half, was not helping. Like Julian [Hammond III] said, we did not rebound good, and we did not take care of the ball. Coach [Tad Boyle] has talked about this all year, so it's on us.”
Julian Hammond III, Sr., G
On attempting to come back in the second half
“They're a pretty good team on defense, and they don't play at the fastest pace, so when you have that many turnovers in the first half, and then in the second half, they had seven offensive rebounds, it's hard to get back in front, especially when you're down double digits. They're a good team on defense, and on offense, so it's really just a mixture of both, but we just shouldn't have let the lead get to what it was at the end of the first half."
On struggling from 3-point range:
"They're just pressuring us, like every team has so far. Teams are trying to make us turn the ball over and stuff like that, and that's been a problem for us. They adjusted how they played a little bit. Sometimes they kind of sag off a little bit of certain guys, but today they were pressuring everybody. When you're being pressured, it's hard to find good threes all the time. But I feel like we still found a decent amount of open threes. Obviously, the guys are going to be running at you, it's not going to be wide open. Some of the threes we had were good shots, we just didn't make them."
On playing without RJ Smith in the second half:
"RJ [Smith], he's a great player on offense, but we especially miss him on defense. He's a really tough, physical defender, a really good athlete. He shoots the ball well from three. He does a lot of things on the court that are simple, but he does them very good. So we miss that."
On playing Javon Small:
"He's a really good player. To start the second half, he took some tough shots, step back threes. We knew that he was going to do that. We knew he was going to get into his dribble moves, his dribble combos to try and set up jumpers, whether it's step back, pull ups, or attacking the rim, or whatever it was. He's a real good player; he draws fouls really good as well."
On losing four in a row:
"It's definitely frustrating losing four games in a row. We haven't had a four-game losing streak in a while. I mean, I can't remember last time. I don't even know if it's since I've been here. So obviously it's frustrating, but we try to keep our team together and keep our guys together because we have another game on Wednesday, and Cincinnati is also 0-4. So we're we both have something to prove, so we have to be ready for them."